Gaza Herald – The Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies has warned that conditions for Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention are rapidly deteriorating as Israeli authorities exploit the summer heat to intensify punitive measures and worsen detainees’ suffering.
In a statement issued Thursday, the center said prison authorities have deliberately denied prisoners basic ventilation, sealing air openings in several prison sections with metal plates to restrict airflow during periods of extreme heat.
The center added that since October 7, 2023, Israeli prison authorities have confiscated electric fans from detainees’ cells, their only means of coping with soaring temperatures, turning overcrowded cells into suffocating spaces that endanger prisoners’ health and safety.
According to the statement, Israeli jails are facing unprecedented overcrowding due to mass detain campaigns across the occupied West Bank and the eastern part of occupied Jerusalem, forcing detainees to sleep on the floor in cramped conditions. At the same time, recreation time has been reduced or completely suspended in some facilities.
Detainees have reportedly been left to rely almost entirely on water to cope with the heat, repeatedly soaking their clothes and blankets in an attempt to cool themselves. Elderly detainees, children, and those with chronic illnesses are said to be facing worsening health complications under these conditions.
The center said Israeli prison authorities have repeatedly rejected detainees’ demands to restore fans, improve ventilation, or reopen sealed windows, describing the measures as part of a deliberate policy aimed at imposing harsher detention conditions and inflicting physical and psychological harm.
It warned that these practices amount to collective punishment, particularly amid ongoing medical neglect and deteriorating living conditions of Israeli detainees.
The organization called on international human rights and humanitarian bodies to intervene urgently, pressure Israel to end violations against Palestinian detainees, and ensure detention conditions comply with international standards.
According to the center, more than 9,400 Palestinian detainees are currently enduring extreme summer temperatures inside Israeli jails, where overcrowded and poorly ventilated cells have become increasingly unbearable during the heatwave.
